Life's Gifts
by Stacee Phelps
Summary: Trouble strikes and the three sons of Elrond are right in the middle of it, but this time, their father sent them. this story won 3rd place in the Teitho Challenge


**Title: Life's Gifts**

**Author: Stacee Phelps**

**Rating: K+**

**Disclaimer: 'Lord of the Rings' does not belong to me and I am not getting paid for writing this. This story was merely written for the Teitho challenge, "Things to be Grateful For".**

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry, but this is not 'Never Forgotten'. I am still trying to get all of that off my computer, but I think I'm about to just rewrite everything. Anyways, this story may suck a little bit because the ending was EXTREMELY rushed. So, anyway, please read and enjoy! **

**Summary: Trouble strikes and the three sons of Elrond are right in the middle of it, but this time, their father sent them. **

**-8-**

Things to be grateful for… The sentence randomly ran through Elrond's mind, causing him to chuckle and close his eyes as he thought about the answer.

He was sitting in a chair right outside his balcony doorway, and he had been examining the quiet beauty that always was his home of Imladris. The sun was shining and the rays were warming the elf's ancient body, causing him to grow sleepy with the feeling of complete contentment. This was the first instance he had had in nearly a month to be by himself with no pressing matter to attend to, no paperwork, and no sons underfoot trying to cause mischief.

Lord Elrond Peredhil was a loving and doting father, never one to push his children into something they didn't want to do, help support them through their many trials, and to help mend their bodies when his children got into too much trouble. However, in the past month, the elven lord's famous patience had nearly run dry at the constant trouble made by his three sons.

Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel Elrondillon were handfuls indeed. Even though the two oldest were elves, and thousands of years old, it never failed that whenever their younger brother was around that they reverted back to the attentiveness of children. And, Estel Elrondillon was almost worse than both his brothers combined. He had a stubborn streak that ran a mile wide, and a need to prove something to whoever doubted his capabilities. And, of course, his brothers knew this and exploited it every chance they got!

So, in the past month, the three had decided that they would have a competition of dares, seeing who could fulfill the boldest dares and come out unscathed. This, of course, meant that Elrond was seeing a lot more of his sons than he had expected. From mild bruising and scratches to deep cuts on various parts of the body, Elrond had expended much of his resources and patience seeing to his sons' injuries.

Finally, he had had enough of it. Seeing that the three were merely tired of being cooped up in doors, Elrond had exuberantly suggested a hunt. Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel had leapt at the opportunity, seeing as their father was letting them go without them having to beg. So, Elrond had sent his children off with a deep breath of relief and returned to his study where he planned to remain for a couple days.

Now, Elrond opened his eyes and watched the scenic activity fluttering on around him. Thinking, the lord realized once again that he may have been hasty in pushing the three young ones into going out. The sons of Elrond were prone to drawing trouble to them, whether it be orcs, poachers, dwarves, wargs, or any other evil creature that sought blood. If the three were out, trouble would inevitably find them.

Breathing deeply in frustration now, Elrond straightened up from his slouching position and moved to stand.

"You know it's too late to go after them, don't you?" a deep voice from behind him questioned. Only mildly surprised that this one had managed to sneak up on him, Elrond stood and turned to his blonde advisor.

"Of course I do, but I cannot help but worry."

An undignified snort followed his pronouncement, and Elrond only glared at him from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you, Glorfindel, for mocking my fatherly concerns." Glorfindel of Gondolin smiled broadly and dismissed the accusation with a wave of his hand.

"I do not mock "fatherly concern"; I mock paranoia." At this, Elrond paused as he reached for some papers and then looked once more to his oldest friend. Not gracing that comment with a response, the lord of Imladris sat down at the chair against his desk and flipped through some papers on his desk before finding the right one.

"I had hoped to rest you know…" Elrond muttered as he glanced up to Glorfindel. The blonde was lounging in the chair across from the raven haired elf and seemed to be enjoying himself.

Sighing in faked understanding, Glorfindel laced his fingers behind his head and sat back a little. Not really commenting, but just watching in amusement, the elf shook his head as Elrond seemed not to notice the blonde.

"You know, you didn't have to send them on a _hunting trip_. You could have just sent them to the falls or for a picnic in the woods." Glorfindel loved to point out mistakes that his lord may have made. It made his day even more enjoyable. Watching Elrond, who was having a hard time not lashing out at the blonde elf, was relaxing for some reason to Glorfindel. Seeing someone else stressed caused him some sort of relief from his own worries.

But after some time, even Glorfindel had to admit that Elrond's insistent worries were warranted. The ones being worried for were Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel for Valar's sake!

Finally breaking his prolonged silence, Glorfindel leaned forward and asked tiredly, "I can go looking for them if you are certain they are in trouble."

Not looking up, but stopping in his writing, Elrond sighed and shook his head.

"No, they would not forgive me. I sent them out this time, and now I have to deal with the consequences."

**-8-**

The woods around them buzzed with the normalcy of the wild, and calmed the restless spirits that traveled among them. Three beings, six counting their mounts, were slowly wandering about Rivendell's trees, eagerly looking around and rejoicing in being outside.

"_Ada _must be really sick, letting us go out the way he did." An elf with raven black hair and sharp blue eyes commented to his brothers with a smirk. Another elf beside him, identical to the one who had spoken, smiled right along with him.

The only human of the group rolled his eyes and responded, "Elrohir, it is possible for once that we might not run into any trouble. There have been a few occasions where it has not been an issue." The elven twins looked to each other and nearly burst out laughing.

Elladan, the oldest of the three, turned to his human brother and said, "Estel, you must have hit your head sometime recently to be thinking that way!" Aragorn, son of Arathorn, but known as Estel Elrondillon to the elves, just stared back at Elladan as if he had grown another head.

Elrohir, riding on Elladan's left and slightly ahead of Aragorn, nodded his head in agreement.

"Now, I'm not saying it is impossible for us to stay out of danger, but you have to realize the probability of it occurring. I hate how many scrapes we've gotten into, but the fact is that we **_have _**gotten into them." The younger twin's reasoning was sound, but the young ranger still didn't like it, unlike Elladan.

"Just think of it as a challenge, Little Brother. You don't have nearly enough of those in your life." The oldest son of Lord Elrond Peredhil said with a haughty air. It was a sarcastic comment, and Aragorn realized that, but rose to his brothers' game.

"Don't have enough? What ever do you mean, _muindor nín _my brother? Being the heir of Isildur, future king of Gondor and Arnor is not good enough for you?" the human put a hand to his chin, pretending thoughtfulness. Then, he snapped his fingers as if he had just realized the answer to a tough question.

"Ah, you must mean that my every day challenge is being your brother? Well, then you're right; it is difficult keeping up with you two and your stupidity." Elladan smiled but forced an indignant tone into his voice.

"Ro, did you hear what he said?" he asked his younger twin.

The other elf nodded with a wicked smile on his face. "Ah, that I did, Brother. What do you propose we do about it?" The elves looked to one another, seeming as if they were trying to decide over a difficult decision. Sharing an inbred "twin-sense", the two nodded as they finally chose an action.

Turning back to their little brother, their identical grins disturbing the young ranger, Elladan began to speak first.

"We challenge you, _Muindor_, to a hunting race." Aragorn's eyebrows rose and he looked to his brothers as if they had gone mad. Cocking his head to one side, the mortal waited as Elrohir took a dramatizing breath to finish his brother's words.

"However, we will be in two teams…"

Aragorn spluttered his indignation, but Elrohir continued. "And, they will be Elladan and I, and you." The ranger held up his hands and adamantly shook his head.

"Now, this is really unfair…"

Elladan's eyebrows went up and he looked to Elrohir before answering his little brother. "It does not matter whether or not this is fair. Will you accept the challenge or go running home to _Ada_ to complain?"

Aragorn's jaw tightened, and that was all the affirmative response the twins needed. Smiling wickedly to one another, Elrohir spun his horse around, throwing over his shoulder,

"We will meet back here before nightfall. Do not be late." With that, the twins sped off into the trees, leaving their younger brother to himself. Staring after them for a moment, he shook his head as he slowly turned his own horse around. Heading off into the trees, he began to mutter in his displeasure with his older brothers.

"Cannot believe them… when _Ada_ hears about this…"

**-8-**

Only about ten minutes later, still muttering dark curses against his brothers, Aragorn stopped his horse and looked around. Not speaking for many moments, the ranger was finally aware that no other sounds echoed any movement of animal or wind. Using his strong senses, the human tried to detect any type of action besides his own and those of his mount.

Not sensing anything tangible, Aragorn still put a hand to his sword hilt as his nerves were on edge. Knowing that something was out there, he gently prodded his horse forward, when from among the trees, an arrow was set loose at him.

Making solid contact with his left shoulder, the projectile's momentum flung the startled ranger from his horse. Hitting the ground hard, Aragorn could vaguely feel the reins still clenched in his right hand. Keeping his frightened horse from running, the human struggled from blacking out. Attempting to move, he heard crashing footsteps and gritty voices speaking in the Black Speech. Cursing, Aragorn managed the feat of getting to his knees, but almost his entire left side was paralyzed.

Seeing the first line of orcs, Aragorn took a deep breath and forced himself to his feet. Trying to scramble onto his saddle, the mortal had to fight with the horse as it kept trying to shy away in horror.

"Daro! stop" speaking in Elvish, Aragorn finally managed to climb up and kick his horse into the direction they'd come from. Hearing the orcs pursuing, Aragorn reached the place where they three brothers had separated.

"Elladan! Elrohir! Come back!" yelling for his brothers, Aragorn demounted and then pulled his sword, pushing his horse away so it wouldn't get hurt; turning to the oncoming orcs, Aragorn tried to move his left arm. Feeling only a twinge, Aragorn grunted in frustration and pain as he swiftly pulled the arrow. Not moving, the arrow remained fixed in his shoulder. Growling, Aragorn used his sword to lob off most of the shaft of the arrow, not wanting to give the orcs any assistance or means to hurt him further.

Finally coming into contact with the orcs, Aragorn used his strong right arm, immediately removing an orc's head from its shoulders. Reversing so that he met another strike before it connected with his side, Aragorn pushed the orcs back as he jumped back for better footing. A daring orc approached the ranger, smiling evilly as one of its companions engaged the ranger. Using its gigantic scimitar, it cut a strong branch from a tree and clutched it tightly in one of its clawed hands.

Walking to stand behind the ranger, the orc swung the branch towards the human's unprotected left back. Seeing it too late, Aragorn attempted to move but the branch caught him across his left side. Feeling and hearing bones breaking, Aragorn cried out as he nearly collapsed. Weakly moving his sword to parry another's blow, the young mortal gritted his teeth as he swiftly turned and lunged toward the branch-swinging orc.

Catching the Mordor spawn by surprise, he stabbed it through the heart and watched it drop. Stunned for a moment, Aragorn was nearly rudely reminded of the enemy behind him as a couple orcs tried to attack him. Suddenly, two arrows streaked past his head and were embedded within the bodies of orcs.

Seeing Elladan and Elrohir and their mounts jumping a log in his direction, Aragorn turned to block another strike and initiate one of his own. Hearing Elladan and Elrohir fighting beside him, the ranger fought with declining strength as the poison from the arrow permeated his body.

**-8-**

Elladan's heart nearly dropped when he saw the orcs ready to stab his little brother through the back. In unison with Elrohir, the two dropped their reins and pulled an arrow for their bows Releasing the taunt strings, the eldest Peredhil breathed with relief and the orcs dropped and Aragorn resumed fighting.

Dismounting, the twins immediately pulled their swords and worked their way over to Estel. Having noticed at once that Aragorn's left arm hung limply at his side, Elladan moved closer to his human brother, wanting to lend support to the left as Elrohir positioned himself on the right.

Easily defending himself from the orcs, Elladan paid attention to his brothers beside him. Elrohir was doing fine, and even seemed to be enjoying himself; cockily practicing moves he had only recently learned. Estel, though, was rapidly failing.

The young ranger had sweat on his brow and was pale, breathing heavily and struggling to raise his sword to meet the strikes of the oncoming orcs. His left arm still hung by his side, but seemed to reflexively wrap around his left side. Elladan knew that the human was hurt badly, and that urged the elf to fight faster and get rid of the enemy.

Hearing Estel's choked gasp, Elladan was distracted at the wrong moment. An orc managed to get between Elladan and Aragorn, pushing the elven warrior back and away from his brothers. Using his sword in a two handed grip, Elladan started to move for a dagger from his belt when he jerked. Not knowing what had happened, Elladan realized too late that he had stepped in a small hole.

Not being able to pull his foot out, Elladan recognized that he had lost concentration at a crucial moment. An orc found that out, too.

Smiling, the orc quickly swung its scimitar and connected deeply against Elladan's chest. It was a deep laceration and stretched from shoulder to mid-chest. Crying out, Elladan tired to move, but another orc came up beside him with a club. Hitting the elf across the left temple, the orcs watched in amusement as the warrior dropped to the ground, hitting his head with a resounding _CRACK_ on the branch that had been used against Aragorn earlier.

With the initial hit on the temple, Elladan had felt consciousness slipping from him. Determined that he would remain aware for the sake of his brothers, his battle was lost the moment his head hit the branch.

**-8-**

'Well, this isn't so bad.' Elrohir thought as he finished off two more of the opponents. These orcs were big but they were dumber than normal. Or, that's what it seemed like to Elrohir. Hearing Elladan cry out, Elrohir quickly spun around after killing another one and looked for his brother. Not seeing him, Elrohir turned to find Estel when a scimitar hilt slammed into his left temple.

Feeling an explosion of pain, Elrohir's sword dropped to the ground without him noticing. After the primary pain, Elrohir found himself on his knees on the ground, completely unaware of how he got there, barely recognizing an orc standing over him, ready to separate the elf's head from his body.

**-8-**

As Elladan and Elrohir were taken down around him, Aragorn was struggling to stay standing, but was fighting with two obstacles. One was the agony of the arrow wound and the broken ribs, but the other was the injury that had occurred when Elladan and Estel had been separated. The young ranger no supported a broken right leg.

Not seeing his brothers, Estel continued to fight, albeit weakly. He was slowly fading from the poison funning rampant throughout his body. Gradually, his vision and hearing, as well as the other senses, were disappearing. Swinging his sword, Aragorn accidentally let an orc through his defenses. Feeling another strong surge of pain, Aragorn fell forward, unable to stop his movement; crashing to the ground, he was completely oblivious as the orcs set upon him.

**-8-**

Elrond's head shot up from where he sat across the dinner table and he managed to startle Glorfindel and Erestor. Nearly jumping to his feet, the elven lord looked around him frantically, lost in a vision.

Glorfindel stood up and walked beside him, placing a hand on the Noldo elf's trembling shoulder. At once, Elrond shuddered and was himself again. Looking around, but anxiously, Elrond whispered,

"My sons are in danger, Glorfindel." The Gondolin elf wasn't at all surprised, but level-headed as he sensed Elrond's desire to go after his offspring.

"I understand your need, _mellon nín_, but we must wait for daylight. We don't know where they are and we could miss them." But, Elrond was already shaking his head.

"The feeling I got was from Estel and I felt a burning in my blood. He has been poisoned, and that may mean that the twins aren't any better off. No, we must go to them."

**-8-**

Waking up was painful. Every nerve throbbed, from forehead to toe and everything was screaming for attention. Feelings his arms twisted behind him cruelly, Elladan didn't even open his eyes as he heard brutal laughing around him. Then, he tried to move. His stomach wound flared up and he could barely keep a loud moan deep within his throat. Slowly opening his eyes, Elladan mentally evaluated his injuries. Not noticing anything else besides his ankle, chest, and head; the warrior was relieved. And then he remembered that his brothers were supposed to be with him.

Looking around hurriedly, it took a moment for his concussed brain to recognize Elrohir's inert from.

"'Ro? Answer me! 'Ro, wake up!" but, he received no answer from his younger brother, no movement. Elladan noticed the heavy bruising on Elrohir's face and the dried blood. Nothing could be done for the younger twin, so Elladan swept his gaze over the camp for his human brother. Growing panicked after not being able to locate the mortal, Elladan finally found him.

The complete opposite of Elrohir, Aragorn was sweating profusely and was shivering, as well as moaning in feverish pain. Knowing instantly that Estel had been poisoned, Elladan tried to move towards his little brother when his mind connected his bound arms, his brothers; conditions, and the maniac/evil laughter from before. They had been captured by the orcs!

Breathing heavily through the pain and fright, Elladan closed his eyes and attempted to work through his mounting helplessness and panic. This was NOT good. Hearing Estel's moans growing louder, the elf also identified the orcs' crushing footsteps drawing close.

"Estel, _muindor nín_, you must calm down." He tried to soothe the ranger, but it was futile. The orcs knew the human was conscious, if not delirious, and would prove to be "fun". Understanding that Estel was in a worse off way than him, Elladan opened his eyes and kicked out with both legs as an orc came close.

Catching the enemy off-guard, the orc fell down as others glared at the elf. Following Elladan's intentions, they forgot Aragorn the moment their other prisoner showed fight still within him. As for Elladan, he was trying not to show obvious pain as his ankle protested.

So, the elven warrior only suspected that the orcs were near him as he tried to control his pain. Hearing their laughter and growls, a pang of panic shot through his heart and he looked up to them glaring at him.

The Noldo elf's heart froze as he heard Estel's weakened voice calling for him. "'Dan, 'Dan, where are you?" not looking at his brother, Elladan yelled at the orcs in Elvish so that the orcs wouldn't hear Aragorn, knowing that the language of his people would anger and pain the orcs into not hearing his human brother.

Suddenly, a clawed hand reached down and grabbed the front of his tunic, roughly pulling him upward with a cry escaping his lips. His chest seemed to explode with agony as the orc threw him closer to the fire.

"ELLADAN!" Aragorn screamed from his prone position, and Elladan could only respond in a whisper, "Estel, be quiet."

The orcs, deciding that they didn't know what they wanted to do to the elf, started to fight amongst themselves. Elladan listened to the suggestions, cringing at some and suddenly was struck with inspiration. Noticing how close he was to the fire, he braced himself for more pain as he thrust his bound wrists over the burning flame. Biting his lips against crying out, Elladan had to force himself to keep his wrists over the fire as he felt the burns forming.

Feeling the ropes beginning to fray, he used his rapidly waning strength to break the ropes. Using the orcs' arguments as a cover, Elladan rolled to his back and rubbed his wrists.

Waiting until the orcs were completely distracted before beginning to move, he painfully rolled onto his stomach before he started to crawl on his elbows towards his brothers. Not even stopping once, Elladan was totally confident that the orcs would be occupied for a time. Finally reaching Aragorn's side, Elladan attempted to free his bound arms.

The young ranger turned his head, sighing in relief as he saw his older brother. "Where's 'Ro?" he asked breathlessly, his face shining with sweat in the firelight.

Elladan could not take the time to look over Aragorn's injuries, but he did answer him. "He's still unconscious." The human nodded, worried but not frantically so for the younger twin, at least, not yet.

Struggling with the knots, Elladan's burns were making it very difficult. Breathing heavily, his hands protesting, Elladan growled in frustration as his usually nimble fingers faltered. Hearing the elf, Aragorn's glazed gray eyes fastened onto his brother. "What's wrong?" he asked in a whisper, the pain from broken ribs flaring.

The immortal sighed and rubbed at his eyes for a moment. "I had to burn my hands…"

Aragorn gasped and shook his head. "_Muindor nín_, if only you'd been over here or waited. I have a dagger in my boot that you can use." Elladan stopped and could only stare at his little brother. He couldn't believe it! He had used the fire to burn the ropes unnecessarily!

Shaking his head, he stretched his arm so that he was touching the top of Aragorn's right boot. Feeling the hilt of the dagger, he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled. The dagger came away and immediately, Elladan began to cut the ropes around Aragorn's wrists.

Snapping, the ropes fell to the ground and Elladan helped Aragorn roll onto his back. Using his hands, Elladan scanned his human brother's body for injuries. Finding the arrow, he started to examine that. Seeing that the shaft was cut down, Elladan eased a hand under Aragorn's shoulder, seeing if the other tip was through the skin. Feeling a sharp tip, he was relieved, for it meant it could be easily removed. Hearing Aragorn's labored breathing as he moved further down, Elladan encountered his broken leg.

Cursing, he used his fingers to see how badly broken it was. After a minute, he determined that it was a break higher up in the leg. Looking back into Estel's eyes, he asked,

"Do you think you could stand or walk?"

Aragorn answered without hesitation. "Yes."

Elladan stared him right in the eye. "Are you sure? I'm going to need help carrying Elrohir." Aragorn paused, but he still answered to the affirmative.

"I know we have to get out of here, 'Dan, and I can help." Elladan smiled appreciatively and then began to make his way over to his incapacitated younger brother. Hearing Aragorn behind him, Elladan moved next to Elrohir and gently tapped his pale cheek.

"'Ro,' Ro, come on, we need you to wake up." Not even stirring, Elrohir's eyes remained closed and his breathing shallow. Sighing sadly, Elladan moved to run his fingers gently through Elrohir's hair, hunting for any type of missed injury.

At last, his fingers encountered a gash with congealed blood around it. Closing his eyes, the older twin sat up and looked to Aragorn.

"He won't be waking up for a while yet." Quickly looking around to see what the orcs were doing, Elladan saw that the bigger orcs were almost done with the smaller ones. Turning back to Elrohir, he used his head to motion for Aragorn to come closer to help.

Gently pulling Elrohir into a seated position, the older twin used Estel's dagger to cut the other elf's bonds. Handing it back to his little brother, Elladan then stood, bracing Elrohir with his legs. Offering a hand to Aragorn, the elf helped him to his feet and to gain his balance. Then, the elf bent over and put his arms under Elrohir's. Using the strength in his legs, he yanked Elrohir to his feet and wrapped an arm around his younger brother's waist.

Sensing Aragorn coming closer, Elladan moved to Elrohir's left side while the young ranger moved to the right.

Using his left shoulder would be excruciating, but he didn't want Elrohir or himself to jar Estel's right leg too much. Taking deep breaths, the three brothers moved off slowly, trying to be as silent as possible as the sounds of fighting faded away.

"Hurry, Estel!" Elladan whispered as his eyes searched for a possible hiding spot. Seeing the trees, Elladan almost thought of using them until he remembered Aragorn's leg. There would be no way he could climb. Sweeping his gaze once more over the trees as the brothers kept going; Elladan could see no hiding spot for them to take shelter in.

Finally, the dreaded sounds of orcs' voices could be heard exclaiming over the disappearance of their captives. Hearing scimitar blades hitting one another and the crushing footsteps, Elladan looked around wildly. Seeing a place that might work, as long as he and Estel used their talents to remain hidden, Elladan glanced to the ranger and indicated with his head where they would be going.

Seeing where his brother wanted to conceal them, Aragorn nodded his head in agreement and helped the elf carry Elrohir towards the fallen log obscured by the brush surrounding it.

Letting Elladan climb over it while he held up Elrohir, Aragorn breathed in relief as the elf reached down and wrapped his arms around Elrohir's waist, heaving him up and over the log. Then, using his arms, Aragorn quickly scrambled over the wood, landing on the softened ground beside it and giving a small exclamation of pain as his ribs and other injuries were jarred.

Elladan, after settling Elrohir in, reached over and helped Estel climb into the hollow log, watching his younger brother's face closely as he tried to mask his growing pain. About to comment on it, Elladan was halted from everything else as the orcs were suddenly near them.

Motioning for Aragorn to be silent, Elladan listened as the orcs conversed, trying to figure out where the three had gone. Looking his youngest brother in the eyes, the elf noticed once more the fever burning brightly within them. Sighing sadly, he looked back to Elrohir and nearly winced as he saw the pale, almost pain-filled face. His brothers needed help, but the elven warrior was unable to do anything for them.

So, Elladan did the only thing he could think of. He prayed for his father to get there.

**-8-**

Riding out of Rivendell had been hard for Glorfindel because he had known that they could be leaving for a wild goose chase. It was pretty dark, even for just after sundown. But, this darkness also worried him. If Lord Elrond was so pressed to find his sons, then something bad must have befallen them. However, in this darkness, it would be nearly impossible to find them.

Now, as they rode towards the eastern border of Imladris, Glorfindel couldn't help but wonder whether or not Elrond's determination would lead them to his sons. Or if his visions would lead into an empty future.

Looking over to Elrond, the blonde elf could easily see the etched features drawn tight in worry and concern. He obviously knew more about what was going on than the Gondolin elf, but was revealing nothing. The elven lord knew exactly what his sons were going through but would not tell his best friend about any of it.

His curiosity at last getting the better of him, Glorfindel turned to look at the son of Eärendil. But, before he could even voice his questions, Elrond stopped him.

"I know, Glorfindel, but they are my sons and I am not letting remain in danger when I have the knowledge and power to rescue them. It is my fault they are there in the first place, and even if it weren't, I would still go after them. I know it's near to impossible to find them this late, but we have a better chance of finding them than any humans or any other elves. We know them, and all we have to do is find the orc camp. After that, we can track them."

Glorfindel nearly stopped his horse as he heard Elrond's words.

"They have managed to escape?" the Noldo elf nodded as he kept looking straight ahead.

"And I know what condition they are in. Elrohir is unconscious, Elladan suffers from a cut across the chest and a twisted ankle, and Estel's injuries are more than what I want to list right now." The blonde elf nodded in acknowledgement of this, and was silent for only a moment.

"Do we have enough time to find them?"

Elrond only looked to him out of the corner of his eye. "I will just put it this way- we don't have time for any error."

**-8-**

It was nearly an hour later, and the orcs were looking in different directions from where the brothers were. By that time, Elrohir was still unconscious and Aragorn was nearly ready to join him. Elladan was silently urging Estel to stay with him, but the ranger's struggles were slowly weakening.

"Estel, please! _Ada_ will be here soon for us! Please, Estel, stay with me!" but, after a while, Aragorn lost consciousness, slumping against his older brother.

Feeling his physical and emotional anguish, Elladan silently prayed to the Valar for help. '_Keep my brothers safe and let our father find us soon."_

**-8-**

Finally, the orc camp. Knowing that the enemy would not be back for quite some time, Elrond dismounted and rushed around, finding the rope used to bind his sons. Going to the edge of the camp, Elrond studied the ground for any sign of which way the wounded three went.

Finding signs of a human's footsteps, Elrond knew right away how hurt Estel was if he was leaving tracks. Human, maybe, but even Estel could mask his footsteps from practically everyone.

Hurrying, Elrond listened and the trees finally revealed where his sons were. Racing to the log, the elven lord gasped, hearing Glorfindel come up behind him.

Seeing the three sons of Elrond, the two elven lords knelt beside them. Elladan was barely conscious, but enough to recognize his father and friend.

"_Ada_, I knew you would find us." He whispered and then slumped over beside his brothers. Elrond lunged forward to check their pulses, and was relieved to feel steady rhythms. Breathing in relief, knowing they would be able to get them home in time, Elrond looked back to Glorfindel with a smile.

"We found them."

**-8-**

Two days later, Elrond walked out of Elrohir's room and saw Glorfindel standing beside the wall, obviously waiting for the lord.

Smiling, he walked up to his friend and shared relieved glances.

"Elrohir woke up and was complaining about the food already. Estel is purged of the poison and Elladan's ankle will heal in a couple days. After everything, they will come out alright."

"Only by the grace of the Valar, I'm sure." Glorfindel said with a meaningful grin.

Elrond shared it. "No, _mellon nín_, the blessings of the Valar has given me so much. This is everything I have ever wished for, and my sons and daughter are living proof of how much the Valar loves my family and me. They are my life's gifts, and I could never be thankful for more."

_**The End**_


End file.
